Best Money Can Buy
by MandyT
Summary: [SoA:Legends] Ficlet about Daikokuya, his travels, and obessision with Vyse. Shounenai mm obviously.


-Author's Notes-  
  
Warnings: This story centers around SHOUNEN-AI/SLASH. That means m/m. Rather disturbing slash at that. Daikokuya/Vyse (yes you can shoot me now) to be exact. It is rated PG, however, for being nothing more than Daikokuya being weird and obsessive over Vyse.  
  
Also, you probably should have played SoA: Legends if you want to read this. Daikokuya wasn't in the original Skies of Arcadia; the bounties were added to the Gamecube version.  
  
**- - -Best Money Can Buy- - -  
**  
Most would have called him a tad too obsessive.  
  
Daikokuya the Wealthy however, did not seem to care. Money could buy him anything, and everything else, including what other people thought about him, didn't especially matter much.  
  
He was born into a filthy rich family, and Daikokuya's parents could afford to buy whatever the unusually small boy wanted. First, his own small boat to sail around the waters of Yafutoma. Next, a boat that would travel through air, though a small one as Daikokuya was still young and his parents did not want him wandering too far. But once he had grown (well, not really grown) into teen, they gave him his own airship.  
  
Where all this money came from was quite unknown by the citizens of Yafutoma, though everyone simply assumed the money was coming from some highly lucrative business. In some truth, it was. Unbeknownst to the king and the entirety of Yafutoma, however, Daikokuya's family was making their money by selling goods to foreign lands. Sailing and any interaction at all with those outside of Yafutoman lands was strictly forbidden, but some, like the Mystery Merchant and Daikokuya's family, ventured outside the barriers in hopes of expanding their own wealth.  
  
So of course this smuggling act business and the entire family fortune was left to young Daikokuya when his parents took their untimely death.  
  
The city of Yafutoma watched their near-celebrity to see how he would do with the family business. Daikokuya, however, never married and never had kids (though the true reasons for this were known only to a few), meaning no heir to the fortune. This was quite outrageous, as an established member of society like Daikokuya did not just go against tradition like this. It was considered a scandalous act to many.  
  
Possibly because of this reason, or a number of others, Daikokuya decided to do something different with his life and the piles of gold his parents had left him. He spent a small fortune building a golden airship and hired the best crew money could buy to pilot it. Then Daikokuya set off to travel, and the city of Yafutoman began to forget about him.  
  
He traveled, moderately content in his lifestyle at that time. He had a couple of brushes with the Tenkou, and while they found his seemingly never ending wealth to be a bit disgusting, they apparently didn't have the heart to attack a man who was about the size of a five year old.  
  
Daikokuya's love of sailing grew, and he soon ventured outside the Yafutoman boundaries. When he did, it wasn't very long before he found something that he loved even more than sailing the skies.  
  
Vyse the Daring, some called him. Others, Vyse the Admirable. Daikokuya, however, preferred Vyse the Dashing. Because that's precisely what he was. Dashing.  
  
As news of the Vyse's adventures spread, Daikokuya found himself going head over heels for the young Blue Rogue, along with every other girl in Arcadia. He was strong, he was adventurous, he was handsome, he was... simply amazing.  
  
With his wealth, Daikokuya searched and bought every picture, every poster and every artist's rendering that he could find of the valiant young Air Pirate, and had them plastered to the walls of his airship where he could simply stare at them all day. True, most of his crewmembers found this slightly strange at the least, but they didn't care, nor did they ask questions. They were some of the highest paid sailors in the skies, and they weren't about to give that up.  
  
Money could buy him anything, that was Daikokuya's saying. However, he found himself quite annoyed that he couldn't get his hands on the Blue Rogue, nor even catch a glimpse of him. Daikokuya sailed the world, able to go where many ships, except for Vyse's ship of course, were not able to go. Every time he landed somewhere though, news was always the same: Vyse had just been here; Daikokuya had missed him by a couple of days.  
  
Growing more frustrated, Daikokuya continued to chase after the Blue Rogue, going by bits of conversations, rumors, and things posted in the Sailor's Guilds, which wasn't always reliable information.  
  
"If only I could find where his base is at... then I would meet him for sure!" Daikokuya could be heard whispering to himself as he paced around his ship, staring longingly up at his Vyse posters.  
  
His crewmembers began to wonder more about him. But again, they stayed silent. They were well paid for it.  
  
Daikokuya now had researched every aspect of Vyse's life. He was the son of Air Pirate Dyne, he currently had the Prince of Valua aboard his new ship, the Delphinus, and he also sailed with two girls, one an air pirate, one a mysterious girl dressed in strange clothes.  
  
Ahh, yes, those two girls. Daikokuya, for one reason or another, hated them. He somehow saw them as his rivals to his beautiful Vyse, and tore them out of every poster or picture that they were in next to Vyse, and had the shreds burned.  
  
Startling news came to Daikokuya one day as he sailed outside Valua, admiring Vyse's handiwork. Vyse was going to try and sail through the Dark Rift! In all his life Daikokuya hadn't heard of a ship successfully making it through. This made Daikokuya worry; what if his beautiful Blue Rogue perished in that black vortex? What if he disappeared without Daikokuya every being able to see him?  
  
But this was Vyse he were talking about. Of course he would sail through successfully. The pirate had escaped from the Grand Fortress twice, for goodness sake!  
  
And if he got through the Dark Rift...  
  
Vyse would arrive at Daikokuya's homeland! Without wasting a second, Daikokuya set course back to Yafutoma at once in hopes of intercepting the Delphinus.  
  
But once again, when he finally got there, it was the same news: Vyse had just left. There had been a rather large battle against Valua as well, but Daikokuya didn't particularly care about that.  
  
Thoroughly annoyed and heartbroken, Daikokuya left Yafutoma to continue his search, but at this point it would beginning to seem hopeless. He began attacking other ships to entertain himself, hoping to become somewhat of an Air Pirate like his idol. However, it soon became apparent to him that Blue Rogues didn't just go around attacking random ships because they felt like it. After a particularly nasty attack on a defenseless merchant's vessel, Daikokuya found that he had landed himself a place on the Wanted List.  
  
Daikokuya tried to justify himself with the fact that Vyse had once been on the Wanted List, but of course he knew that it hadn't really been Vyse, just some group of doppelgangers using Vyse's name for evil. Daikokuya had met this 'Vize' and his crew. He wasn't any where near as beautiful and amazing as the original. Just some filthy actor.  
  
Perhaps it was the added annoyance of not being about to walk down the street without being recognized as a criminal, as well as the fact that meeting Vyse at last seemed utterly hopeless, but Daikokuya began to develop a more bitter streak, like the Black Pirate he was told to be. The wealthy Yafutoman began to make plans to kidnap Vyse and keep him as his own personal 'trophy'.  
  
Now, while wandering his ship, he could be heard muttering to himself, "I'll catch that Vyse one day..."  
  
Again, his crew wondered about him, but didn't say anything. They were well paid for it.  
  
Daikokuya continued to wander, but fell into a bit of trouble one day when a group of overly enthusiastic young bounty hunters decided to take a go at capturing him turn him in for the reward money. Daikokuya laughed at the reward money. Such a pitiful amount for one of his wealth and importance!  
  
Never the less, they did manage to chase him south a ways, where Daikokuya shook them of by flying higher than their ship could manage. This took Daikokuya over the Lands of Ice, where he got completely lost. The lone gold ship drifted aimlessly over the huge expanse of ice.  
  
It was cold, that morning, when Daikokuya woke up. It didn't seem to bother him, for by now he had gotten quite used to it. Bundling himself up in a robe, Daikokuya walked out onto his golden deck.  
  
"See anything interesting this morning?" he asked the frozen lookout.  
  
"N-nothing," shivered the lookout. The men had only complained once about the cold, but didn't complain anymore. They were well paid for it.  
  
"Nothing but that cursed Aurora," muttered Daikokuya to himself. It was a pretty sight at first, but one grew weary of seeing nothing but it and the ice in the endless skies.  
  
One grew weary of it all. Daikokuya had grown restless, and they were beginning to run out of fuel. He didn't know this area well; it hadn't been very detailed on all the maps he had ever looked at.  
  
_'If we just keep on sailing in one direction, we're bound to hit SOMETHING'_ Daikokuya thought to himself. After all, Vyse had been here. Vyse had sailed around the whole world. Surely Daikokuya could sail himself out of the lands of ice.  
  
But there was no news besides the Aurora and the ice the next day, nor the next. Daikokuya spent the days cooped up in his room. They had shut down the heating system a few days ago to preserve fuel, so Daikokuya's breath came out in small puffs as he spent his days staring at his Vyse pictures and polishing his large cat statue, which was one of his most prized possessions.  
  
The news came late the next morning as Daikokuya was drinking lukewarm tea. A ship approaching on the horizon! Pushing his excited crew out of the way, Daikokuya crawled up to the crow's nest and snatched the telescope out of his lookout's hands.  
  
What he saw nearly made him fall over board as he twittered with excitement.  
  
"I- I don't believe it!" he cried, "It's... it's the D-Delpinus!"  
  
And sure enough, it was the Delpinus, slowing as approached them.  
  
"Everyone!" yelled the tiny Daikokuya, "Prepare to board the Delpinus when it gets close enough!"  
  
The ship began to buzz with action; everyone aboard knew the importance of what was happening. They would finally be meeting the famous Blue Rogue Vyse.  
  
They prepared for battle, however. Daikokuya was still going to go ahead with his plain of capturing Vyse.  
  
Daikokuya's giant cat statue, which was a weapon in itself, was fetched, though not without much difficulty. They had an even bigger job trying to get the thing on the Delpinus without it dropping into Deep Sky. Luckily though, the thing landed successfully on the deck of the Delpinus, with a giant 'THUD!' that shook the whole ship. Daikokuya's men were on board with a nimble jump after it. Daikokuya positioned himself on top of the cat, ready to strike.  
  
Four people came running out to meet them. Daikokuya recognized Enrique, the prince of Valua, those two girls whom he hated, Aika and Fina, and- he nearly twittered off his seat again with excitement- Vyse.  
  
He was even more handsome in person. His eyes were bold and determined, and he stood in position, ready to fight. The young Blue Rogue seemed a little surprised to see the absurd sight of tiny Daikokuya perched atop the cat.  
  
Daikokuya sweated a little, and decided it would be best to go ahead with the capture and do the introductions later. He tried to keep from staring too dreamily at Vyse as gave his bold proclamation that he, Daikokuya, was going to capture the Blue Rogue.  
  
Of course Daikokuya knew that Vyse wouldn't willingly go along with this, and he watched in admiration as the pirate prepared himself for battle. It seemed almost a shame to defeat him, the poor thing would be devastated... but it must be done.  
  
Daikokuya would capture Vyse.  
  
Money could buy him anything. It would buy him the beautiful Blue Rogue.  
  
It was a tough battle. Daikokuya's men were strong, and his large cat statue/weapon even stronger. A few times it looked like Vyse and his crew were at his mercy, but every time Vyse managed to slide his way out of it. Vyse was too powerful, and eventually Daikokuya found himself admiring the Blue Rogue's amazing attack 'Pirate's Wrath' on the receiving end of it.  
  
"F-fine, you win," stammered Daikokuya, bitter with defeat and the fact that the Blue Rogue would indeed NOT be his, "We surrender. You're too powerful, Vyse."  
  
"Good," said Vyse, "Now, do you promise to stop attacking ships?"  
  
Daikokuya immediately forgot the disappointment of defeat to admire the Blue Rogue and his strong sense of justice.  
  
"Yes, yes, of course," said Daikokuya, who had honestly stopped once he'd found out he was on the Wanted List.  
  
"One thing I don't get though," said Vyse, "Is why would a guy with so much money would go around attacking merchant's ships? And without taking hardly anything?"  
  
This question caught Daikokuya slightly off guard.  
  
"I guess," he began, "It was just fun."  
  
Vyse raised an eyebrow here.  
  
"The truth is," Daikokuya confessed, "I'm just rather smitten with you, Vyse."  
  
Four faces all changed rather quickly. Prince Enrique blushed furiously, Aika began to giggle, Fina's face changed to an even blanker look, glancing back and forth between Aika, Daikokuya and Vyse, who had an extremely exasperated and slightly scared look on his face.  
  
Well, Daikokuya grudgingly admitted to himself, that wasn't unexpected either.  
  
"But," the Yafutoman continued, "I can see that your heart already belongs to somebody else." He glanced quickly at Aika and Fina.  
  
This last remark of his surprised Daikokuya, it was rather unlike him to just give up on Vyse. Daikokuya's crew looked rather shocked at this comment also, for they had sailed with him long enough to know all about him and his obsessions.  
  
There wasn't time to say anything more, however, because Vyse had just turned and ran back inside the Delpinus. Daikokuya couldn't think of anything to do or say while he sat there and waited for Aika to finish laughing.  
  
"So," she said at last, "What are you gonna do now, Daikokuya? Your name will be clear, you know, we'll make sure of it."  
  
"Um," said Daikokuya, "I guess... well, I would really like to just continue sailing."  
  
"Oh?" said Aika, "Uh... okay then. See you around the skies then."  
  
"I'm sure you will," replied Daikokuya, with a smirk that would have scared Vyse even more.  
  
And then the three of them turned and walked back inside.  
  
Quite a disappointing meeting, thought Daikokuya to himself as the all returned back to the ship.  
  
"Uh... sir," said a crewmember next to him, "Where do we head now?"  
  
"What?" said Daikokuya, "Why, we follow the Delpinus of course!" The crew exchanged smirks. THIS was the Daikokuya they knew.  
  
"Gotta follow them if we wanna get out of this stupid Lands of Ice!" Daikokuya winked as he helped get his cat statue safely inside.  
  
"By the way, Youjin..." said Daikokuya, turning towards his fighter who was sitting down to rest after the battle, "That was a rather ah... erotic pose you had Vyse trapped in that one time, don't you think?"  
  
And with that, Daikokuya walked away, leaving his crew to exchange more glances at each other. That was by far the most disturbing thing they had ever heard their captain say.  
  
They didn't say anything though.  
  
They were well paid for it.  
  
-FIN-  
  
A/N: I didn't use the exact text from the game during the battle... I really didn't feel like getting out SoA and trying to play to a point on one of my games where I could battle Daikokuya. So if some the stuff during the battle is a bit off, that's why. I like it when fics don't use the exact text though. 


End file.
